Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
May 27, x788.
With his head pressed into the ground by a foot clad in purple electricity, Orochimaru was thoroughly confused by how he ended up that way. However, when he heard the voice of the person who captured him three and a half years ago, combined with that irritating nickname, Orochimaru almost had an aneurysm.
"How…? How are you here?" Orochimaru managed to rasp out "Since when are outsiders allowed to medal in the Chunin Exam?"
"If that isn't the fucking pot calling the kettle black." Alfonzo said in a disdainful tone. "In case you forgot, you're a rogue shinobi. Meaning, you're no longer a member of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Other words, an outsider."
Alfonzo's disdainful tone made Orochimaru even angrier. Despite that, no matter how hard he struggled, he was unable to free himself. Luckily, just as Alfonzo thought, he was not here with his real body. Instead, he was using a cloning technique. Though, it was not the Second Tsuchikage's [Splitting Technique]. Instead, it was something he derived from it called a [Blood Clone].
"Anyway, I figured you'd want to get an Uchiha as your next vessel, Pedo-Snake." Alfonzo said without giving Orochimaru a chance to retort. "I mean, having a Sharingan would be nice, right? But without the Uchiha bloodline, it wastes too much magic power. So, why not get an Uchiha as your next vessel, right?"
At that moment, Orochimaru's struggles ceased for a moment. He had no idea how Alfonzo could possibly know his plans, but the fact that he did was terrifying. And for the first time ever, he regretted the fact that if this [Blood Clone] was killed, its memories would not be passed on to his main body.
In fact, when Orochimaru created this cloning technique, the fact that the clone would not pass on its memories like the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] does was made that way by design. Because the [Blood Clone] was supposed to last much longer than any other cloning technique, being inundated by all its memories upon its death could be dangerous.
Unfortunately, that means that Orochimaru's main body would have no idea that Alfonzo is in the village. So, there will probably be no change to the plans he made with the Village Hidden in the Sand to destroy the Leaf during the final round of the Chunin Exam.
"So, when I felt you and Kabuto being [Reverse Summoned] into the village yesterday, I knew you would come after Sasuke to mark him with that disgusting [Cursed Seal of Heaven]." Alfonzo said as he put a little more force in to the foot he was using to press Orochimaru's head into the ground.
Orochimaru's shock deepened even further after hearing Alfonzo mention the [cursed Seal of Heaven]. No one outside of him should know its true name. Though most people know he has the ability to place a [Cursed seal] on people, giving them enormous power, he has never told anyone what the [Seal] is actually called, not even kabuto.
"How do you know that name?" Orochimaru asked in a shaky tone.
"Do you really think you have any secrets that I can't find?" Alfonzo asked with a sneer forming on his lips. "Or did you forget, I already knew about Kurotsuchi's Zanpakuto project before I ever squeezed his research notes out of him. Trust me, little Pedo-Snake, if I want to find out about something, there's nothing in this world that can stop me."
Naturally, that was a lie. Although Alfonzo had a fairly decent information network thanks to all the business under Sixth Sense Holdings, it was not so comprehensive that he could get secret intel about people like Orochimaru or Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Instead, all the information he just mentioned was once again thanks to his meta-knowledge.
In fact, for the first fifteen years of his life, other than his apprenticeship under Nell Goldstein, Alfonzo hadn't even met anyone from outside the Fairy Tail storyline, making him think that information would not be useful. But after meeting Marin a month after he and Elicia turned fifteen, they started popping up everywhere.
Orochimaru really had nothing to say. Seeing that, Alfonzo shook his head. Then, he turned his attention towards Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke with a smile on his face.
"You three have grown a lot." Alfonzo said as he tapped the heel of his foot on Orochimaru's head. "And your team work was really impressive."
Hearing Alfonzo's praise, Naruto smiled bashfully while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, Sakura smiled happily because she had been recognized for something more than just her book smarts, and Sasuke raised his head proudly while wearing an expression that shouted: "Did you expect anything less?"
"Anyway, I'm really proud of you." Alfonzo continued with a smile. "So, I really hope that the three of you will all be Chunin by the time this exam is over. Oh yeah, I almost forgot…"
With that, Alfonzo took his foot off of Orochimaru's head. Despite that, the rogue shinobi did not move at all. And the reason for that was because of the last time Alfonzo tapped his foot on Orochimaru's head. At that moment, Alfonzo raised the output of the electricity wrapped around his foot, knocking Orochimaru unconscious.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru would not have the opportunity to stay unconscious for long. Because after Alfonzo stepped away from his head, the stretched neck snapped back like a rubber band, which woke up Orochimaru immediately. However, before he could even try to flee, Alfonzo appeared next to him and grabbed him by his shoulder.
At the same time, as soon as Alfonzo's hand came into contact with Orochimaru, metallic restraints wrapped around Orochimaru's torso and limbs, leaving him unable to move. On top of that, the restraints were etched with anti-magic sigils, making it impossible for Orochimaru to use any of the strange techniques he was known for.
"Now, I just gotta get that scroll back…" Alfonzo muttered to himself as his hand was covered with a black, metallic liquid.
Hearing that Alfonzo still had the intention to get back the scroll he swallowed earlier, Orochimaru's pupils dilated to their limits. He wanted to say that he would cough it up himself. However, before he could, Alfonzo's hand plunged into his torso.
"Gya~~~~~~~!" A heart-rending scream tore from Orochimaru's throat as Alfonzo's entire hand penetrated his abdomen.
A little more than a second later, Alfonzo pulled his hand out of Orochimaru's abdomen while holding a black scroll with the word "Earth" written on it. Then, he casually tossed it towards Team 7. However, neither of the three caught it, taking a step back and letting it fall to the ground between them.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru continued to scream bloody murder. The pain he was in was worse than anything he had ever felt, which meant it must be quite considerable. Especially since he had survived two wars in the past.
One thing to take note of was the fact that the black, liquid-metal substance that was coating Alfonzo's hand, the Techno Organic Metal, was no longer on his hand when he pulled it out of Orochimaru's stomach.
"Damn you!" Orochimaru cursed through gritted teeth between screams. "What did you do to me? And why does this hurt so much worse than having a hole in my stomach usually does?"
"It actually doesn't surprise me that you've been in this state before, Pedo-Snake." Alfonzo said as he reached into Orochimaru's Ninja Backpack and pulled out all the scrolls. Then, when he found another Earth Scroll, he continued while tossing it towards Team 7. "But it only hurts so much because I'm healing your wound. Though, I'll admit that having a wound healed this way is the most painful thing I've ever experienced, too."
"What exactly are you doing to me?" Orochimaru asked while sweat constantly streamed down his face.
"I'm using a little bit of a metal I found about six years ago… I think." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "I called it the Techno Organic Metal, a living metal that actively seeks out the wounded and parasitizes them while healing their wounds. Of course, there are some side effects, but I won't get into that for now. Anyway, I promise you'll be good as new when I take the metal out, so don't worry. You'll just have to endure a little pain, mkay?"
Seeing the flames of anger in Orochimaru's eyes, Alfonzo's smile widened. Then, he turned to Team 7 and spoke once again.
"Anyway, I'm gonna take this guy to see the Hokage." Alfonzo said. "And if I find out that you three have somehow failed this part of the exam five days later… Hehehe… Let's just say you won't like the consequences."
Utterly terrified by the implications of Alfonzo's threat, all three Genin, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, nodded their heads in fear. Then, they picked up the Earth Scroll Alfonzo fished out of Orochimaru's Ninja Backpack and dashed off towards the center of the forest.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo only watched the three kids leave with a grin on his face while listening to Orochimaru's pained grunts and screams. Then, to make sure he wouldn't be found out, he gagged Orochimaru with a piece of metal that had the ability to absorb soundwaves. After that, he put away all the scrolls he dumped out of Orochimaru's Ninja Backpack, bent the light around himself and Orochimaru, and flew out of the Forest of Death to drop off his package.
At the same time, back in the village proper, Laki and Saeko were out shopping. Though, that was only a façade. Rather, they were keeping an eye on Kabuto, who was moving around while in disguise. Unfortunately, there were no opportunities to take him down without making a ruckus that would alert the shinobi from other nations. So, they could only continue to monitor him for now.
"*Sigh* This is even harder than doing quests without causing property damage." Laki said in a frustrated tone. "I don't know how Lici does it. Finishing a quest without anyone seeing her, I mean."
"Well, the fact that she can make herself invisible probably helps quite a bit." Saeko replied as she looked at a beautiful kimono on display in a store. Then, with a nod, she held it up to her front and turned to Laki. "What do you think, would this look good on me?"
"I think you should just buy it and ask Alfonzo." Laki said with a smile. "That's whose opinion really matters to you, right?"
In response, Saeko blushed, looking like quite the shy maiden, a rather drastic contrast form her usual valiant, yet sadistic, warrior persona . However, there was also a bit of awkwardness in her expression, too. And Laki could see right through the reason for it.
"You don't' have to worry about me." Laki said in a very tranquil way. "I know I don't have a chance with Alfonzo. Especially because I'm not willing to share him. That said, I would accept him right away if he left all the others for me, even though I know that's impossible."
"But what about Kakashi?" Saeko asked as she started walking towards the checkout counter with Laki following behind her. "It looks like you really like him, too."
"I'll admit I do enjoy his company." Laki replied. "and I'm really curious to see what is underneath his mask. I would even go so far as to say that I'd like to date him with the chance to get married in the future. But if Alfonzo broke up with you and the others and told me he wanted to be with me, I'd break up with Kakashi or any other man I was seeing in a heartbeat."
"Is that really a healthy mindset to have?" Saeko asked as she placed the kimono on the counter. Then, she looked at the shopkeeper for a moment to say, "I'll take this one."
While the shopkeeper wrapped the kimono Saeko selected and accepted the payment, Laki answered Saeko's question.
"If it were possible that Alfonzo would ever do that, it wouldn't be." Laki said while shaking her head gently. "But then again, if he were the type to do something like that, I probably wouldn't have such deep feelings for him."
Reaching that point, Laki looked out of the shop's front window, and she just so happened to see a certain white-haired Leaf Jōnin walking down the street while reading a little orange book.
"Hey, Saeko, I'll see you later." Laki said as she walked away from Saeko. "Don't worry, I'll keep tracking that guy. But there's something I need to do in the meantime."
As she reached the end of her sentence, Laki walked out of the shop. Then, she started running down the street to catch up with Kakashi, who, after noticing that Laki was coming, sighed audibly. Yet, he did not try to run away from her. In fact, if one could see into his visible eye, they would see a bit of fondness shining in it.
Meanwhile, Saeko, after seeing Laki's actions, was at first taken aback. Then, she smiled as she finished the transaction with the shop keeper. After that, she left the shop with a new kimono. However, after a few steps, she felt a familiar magic power signature flying overhead and heading towards the Hokage Tower.
"I guess Alfonzo is done." Saeko said with a smile. "Well, as long as Kabuto doesn't leave the village, I can track him from home. So, I'll go back to wait for him. I wanna know how Alfonzo's capture went as soon as possible."
With that, Saeko, with a little extra pep in her step, returned to the temporary residence. And when she arrived, she put on her new kimono to get Alfonzo's opinion about how it looked on her.